Softball Swept at Becker
LEICESTER, Mass.- The Becker College softball team swept Mitchell College in a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon with scores of 8-7 and 10-2.
The sweep lifted the Hawks to 17-9 overall (10-0 NECC) while the Mariners dropped to 6-20 (5-7 NECC).
Mitchell returns to action at home against Wheelock College on Tuesday, April 19 at 3 p.m.
Game 1 - Becker 8, Mitchell 7
Becker jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. With runners on second and third, Samantha Lee cleared the bases with a double into the left-center gap. After a Brianna Herforth infield single put runners on the corners, Brittany Fiederlein uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Lee to scamper home.
Rebecca Carkhuff gave the Hawks a 4-0 lead when she led off the bottom of the second with a home run over the left field fence. Jennifer VanAlphen and Jessica Wheelahan then belted back-to-back doubles to put the hosts in front 5-0.
The Mariners came storming back with three runs in the top of the fourth. Shannon O'Neil got the inning started with a solo homer to center. After Jenny Groman and Jacquelyn White reached with a pair of singles, Taylor Duchesneau emptied the bases with a double to right, cutting the Hawks lead to 5-3.
Mitchell completed the comeback in the top of the fifth when O'Neil belted a two-run blast over the right-center fence, knotting the game at 5-5. The bomb was her third of the season and seventh of her career.
The scored remained the same until the bottom of the sixth when Becker tallied three runs. Jaclyn Orangio got the inning started when she reached on bunt. After VanAlphen sacrificed Orangio over to second base, Wheelahan gave the Hawks the lead with double into the right-center gap. After a fly out by Megan Klemanchuck bumped Wheelahan over to third base, a wild pitch allowed her to score the Hawks' seventh run. Lee kept the inning alive with a two-out double to right, and Herforth capped the rally with an RBI single to up the lead to 8-5.
The Mariners refused to go down without a fight as they threatened with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. Suzanne Vachon and Samantha DelConte started the inning with back-to-back singles. Fiederlein moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt, bringing the dangerous O'Neil to the plate. The Hawks pitched around O'Neil, putting the tying run on base. Groman followed with a blooper down the right field line, scoring Vachon to make the score 8-6. After Danielle Autieri brought the Mariners within a run with a sacrifice fly to center, Becker pitcher Kelsey Norberg struck the next batter out to preserve the 8-7 victory.
Norberg earned her 11th victory of the season while Fiederlein suffered the loss for the Mariners.
Game 2: Becker 10, Mitchell 2 (6 innings)
Klemanchuck put Becker on the board in the top of the first when she brought home VanAlphen with a triple into the right-center gap. Becker's game two pitcher, Samantha Lee, helped her own cause by singling home Kelmanchuck to put the Mariners in an early 2-0 hole.
Mitchell put a run on the board in the top of the second when they took advantage of Becker miscues in the field to cut the Hawks lead to 2-1.
The Hawks scratched across a run in the bottom of the third on a Herforth RBI single that scored Klemanchuck to make the score 3-1.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Hawks scored two runs without registering a hit. Jennifer Boxell made her way to first on an error to start the inning. Orangio then made her way around the bases when the attempt to throw her out at first sailed down the right field line, increasing the Becker lead to 5-1.
Becker upped the lead to 6-1 with run in the bottom of the fourth when Herforth scored from third on a wild pitch.
Mitchell added a run on an RBI ground out by Duchesneau in the top of the sixth to make the score 6-2, but Becker tacked on four runs in the bottom of the inning to make the final 10-2.
Lee earned the victory after allowing two runs (zero earned) on five hits, while Duchesneau suffered the loss for Mitchell.